CFTC to Host Cryptocurrency CEO Forum to Discuss Digital Asset Market Pilot Program

January 23 – Binance founder CZ spoke at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos yesterday, noting that the U.S.’s shifting stance on the crypto space is highly significant and will impact all aspects of the Western world. Following the U.S.’s lead, numerous countries have begun adjusting their positions on crypto assets, including the UAE, Thailand, and several Central Asian nations. The UAE has granted Binance licenses for nearly all its global operations, including futures trading. Beyond regulatory policy shifts, capital flows have also changed. Many traditional funds previously couldn’t allocate to crypto assets—even JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon publicly opposed the space in the past. But now he’s advising clients to allocate a portion of their holdings to crypto assets. Over the past year, new capital inflows into the crypto space have come primarily from traditional financial institutions or family offices.

River announced on January 23rd, per an official statement, that it has completed a $12 million strategic funding round. In addition to the $8 million previously invested by Justin Sun’s TRON DAO, this round includes investors such as Arthur Hayes’ Maelstrom Fund, The Spartan Group, plus U.S. and European publicly traded companies and institutions. The capital will support River’s expansion across EVM and non-EVM ecosystems (including TRON, Sui, and major EVM networks) and further build out its on-chain liquidity infrastructure. Goals include accelerating ecosystem deployment, deepening stablecoin liquidity, and driving satUSD integration into trading, lending, staking, and yield-generating use cases. Additionally, River will launch two yield products—Smart Vault and Prime Vault—offering a unified interface for users and institutions to access cross-ecosystem yield via protocol-native and institutional-grade strategies.

**OKX to Launch SPACE (Spacecoin) Spot Trading** Spot trading for SPACE (Spacecoin) will go live on OKX at 8:00 PM UTC+8 on January 23, 2026.

On January 23, per Onchain Lens monitoring data, Arthur Hayes received approximately 5.83 million ATH tokens following an unlock by Atheir, with the total valued at roughly $52,300.

**USD/JPY Spikes Amid Possible Japanese Intervention (Jan 23)** Per Bitget market data, USD/JPY spiked sharply on January 23, sparking speculation that Japanese authorities may have stepped in to halt the yen from sliding to or near multi-year lows. After the initial surge, the pair temporarily dipped to 157.33 before settling at 158.17, marking a 0.13% decline. It remains unclear if officials launched yen-buying intervention, and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has not commented. Investinglive analyst Giuseppe Dellamotta noted that Japanese authorities likely intervened in forex markets following the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) rate decision— which weakened the yen. The 159.00 level in USD/JPY appears to be an unofficial floor set by officials. Last week, authorities ramped up verbal intervention, helping ease downward pressure on the yen.

On January 23, the People’s Procuratorate of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, announced that defendants including Sui Guangyi and Ma Xiaoqiu have been prosecuted by the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court for illegal fundraising crimes tied to Shenzhen Dingyifeng Asset Management Co., Ltd., Hong Kong Dingyifeng International Holdings Group Co., Ltd., and their affiliated firms in Shenzhen and other locations. Charges against the group include fundraising fraud, illegal absorption of public deposits, money laundering, embezzlement, illegal border crossing, and providing false certification documents—all in compliance with China’s Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law. Sui Guangyi, the case’s main perpetrator, claimed to be “one of the Big Dipper stars descended to earth.” He lured investors by touting the “Zenith Investment Method” (promised high returns) and illegally raised funds via fraudulent financial products and “DDO Digital Options” (a so-called “air coin,” or worthless cr